Tag Archives: exercise

I haven’t forgotten you, old friend.

February 22, 2013 – 9:26 am

I took the time to do some laundry last night after work. The washer and dryer are in the basement, and it’s cold down there this time of year.

I hurried to get the laundry moved over from the washer to the dryer, and then I turned and hurried toward the stairs and some warmer air. But something stopped me right in my tracks.

It was my bike. Just sitting there. Looking lonely. And dusty. And no matter how cold I was, I had to stop and check her out.

This is a big deal. I don’t have a trainer to set her up on. I go to the gym and use the spin bikes in the winter. Once I put the bike away, it stays put away until Spring.

I wasn’t just looking everything over again. I was reliving all those rides from last year. All those happy memories (and an unhappy one too). I was looking forward to the rides to come in 2013. Before I knew it, I was imagining the first ride I’ll do this Spring.

This is how I used to feel about baseball when I was a kid. And I guess how I used to feel about Spring and Summer in general when I was a kid. Oh, I liked the snow. Okay, I really liked getting snow days off from school. What kid doesn’t? But around this time of year, I always did, and I always still do, start to really hunger for the warmer weather.

So come on Spring! What are you waiting for? The temperature was in the twenties most of the week here. I know, that’s nothing compared to the Midwest, the plains states that are getting so much snow and ice, and up in Canada where it’s crazy cold for months at a time. But the cabin fever is starting to get to me.

DSC00188

I haven’t forgotten you, my old friend. I haven’t forgotten the great times we’ve shared already. And I’m looking forward to the great times to come.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Exercise, Fridays | Also tagged , , | Comments (1)

Watch out demon.

February 19, 2013 – 10:49 am

I’m looking for it. Looking for that demon. The one lurking out there somewhere, ready to strike when I least expect it. I have to constantly be on my guard to keep the demon at bay.

There’s a semi-predictable arc to my exercise regimens. I start out easy, just trying to get used to working out again, trying to get my stamina to a higher level, trying to burn a few calories. That usually takes a couple of weeks to a month.

Then I’ll start to kick it in a little. I’ll get to the gym or out on the road a little more frequently. At the same time, I’ll ramp up the intensity or my workouts… a lot.

It’s usually during this time that the demon comes out from the depths of wherever the demon lives. The demon takes the form of a super-quick, super-low hypoglycemia event. One of those bad ones. The kind where you pass out, or nearly pass out, and sometimes someone has to call 911 for you.

The demon rears its ugly head around two weeks or so into this more intense workout regimen. The low happens so fast that one minute, I’m walking, or I’m on the phone, or I’m cleaning the house, and the next minute I’m on the floor. Almost that fast. Without warning. Sound familiar?

The worst part is, this demon-low thing sometimes makes me back off on the workout routine. Once or twice it has even made me give up on the workout routine entirely. I know that if I’m going to accomplish my goals and participate in the events I have planned this year, I’ve got to get through this stage and keep on going. Even if I do experience an awful low again.

And guess what? Over the weekend, I hit the two week mark in this more intense workout stage. So now I’ve got to be more vigilant. I’ll probably be checking the BGs a little more often. I may even give in to a mid-afternoon snack, despite the fact that I’m never hungry in the middle of the afternoon. Am I willing to work on the high side of my glucose just to keep the demon at bay? No… because the demon doesn’t care if you’re generally high for two or three weeks before coming down into a good range. When you hit that range, it will be waiting to strike. So I would just be putting off confronting the demon for a little while.

But I’m armed with a few new tools to help me now, and a lot more information. I read your blogs people, and I pay attention to what works for you and how you try to keep the demon out of your own lives. I read from experts in the field, be they a blogger or a medical professional.

I’m hoping that this kind of information gathering and vigilance will make things different this time. To be honest, I’m ready to punch the demon in its face this time. And even if the demon gets out, I will do my best to remain mentally strong enough to not let it bother me too much. Let’s face it… sometimes, the real victory is in getting up and starting again after you’ve been knocked down.

So watch out demon… you will not get the better of me this time.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Exercise | Also tagged , , | Comments (2)

Time to get going.

February 11, 2013 – 9:50 am

Back in my first post this year, I talked about my defining ideals for 2013. One of them involves staying as healthy and active as possible. To that end, I’ve made the commitment for my first athletic event of the year.

TourdeCure

The Chesapeake Bay Tour de Cure is entering its second year. To be honest, the Maryland Tour de Cure is closer to home… I wouldn’t even have to stay in a hotel for that one. But it’s a couple of weeks earlier, and you never know what the weather will be like here in early May. Plus, it’s in Carroll County, which is west of here, which means it’s very, very hilly. As in uphilly. As in, even a 30 mile ride would take a lot of effort.

On the other hand, the Chesapeake Bay Tour de Cure is based in Easton, on the other side of the Chesapeake Bay. All of it is 100 feet or less above sea level. I’ve already done the Tour de Talbot there, which benefits JDRF and covers much of the same real estate. I know what I’m getting into. The 55 miler should be a great way to get started this year. If I can add the Tour de Talbot (in September) as a bookend to my events in 2013, I’ll be thrilled.

I’ll be honest… I would really love to participate in one of the big JDRF rides this year. But there’s a big reason why I don’t. You see, there’s a big difference between the ADA and the JDRF rides, and the difference is this:

1800 dollars.

If I want to participate in the Tour de Cure here in May, I have to raise 200 dollars before I’m allowed to ride in the event.

If I want to participate in one of the JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes events, I have to raise at least 2,000 dollars. 1,999 dollars? No ride.

Granted, if I raise 3,000 dollars they’ll put me up in a hotel for three days, and if I raise four grand they’ll cover my airfare and ship my bike too. That would be fantastic, and I would sign up yesterday if I thought I could raise that much scratch.

I know it sounds like I’m hating on the JDRF rides, but I’m not. I greatly admire the people who can do this, and I will be contributing to as many of those efforts as I can myself. I encourage you to do the same.

But… even though almost everyone I know might contribute, almost everyone I know can only contribute 5 or 10 dollars at a time. I don’t know if I know 200 to 400 people. I’m not ruling it out, mind you. I really want to do one of those rides. But I’m going to have to wait another year at least.

In the meantime, ADA is still a great cause, and they do a tremendous thing organizing these rides all over the country. One suggestion: Please publish the ride route early. I hate having to wait until event day to find out where I’ll be going, and so does The Great Spousal Unit. She wants to be able to find me if I don’t check in by phone at the right time. You know what I mean.

This is getting a little long, so let me close by asking two things:

1. If you’re within driving distance, please consider participating. More information is available here:
http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?fr_id=8614&pg=entry

2. If you can, please consider contributing. I feel kind of weird asking, but I know the cause is important. Here’s the link to my page:
http://tour.diabetes.org/site/TR?px=7322190&pg=personal&fr_id=8614&s_src=email_tour&s_subsrc=autoresponder-forward

In another month, if I’m lucky, I’ll be tuning up the bike, pumping up the tires, and getting out there on the road. In three months, I hope to see you at the Chesapeake Bay Tour de Cure.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Diabetes, Exercise | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

When I love to swim, and when I don’t love to swim.

January 7, 2013 – 10:27 am

I started to get back to the gym Sunday. This year, I’m starting my overall training in the pool.

Yesterday was the first time in over six months that I swam laps in a pool. I’ve been dealing with some painful issues in both shoulders that I don’t understand completely. But after trying to work through them unsuccessfully early last year, I finally decided to let them rest as much as possible and I hadn’t swum laps since early June. I waited, and waited, and waited, until both shoulders finally felt something like normal when I stretched them or threw a ball for the dog to retrieve.

So I swam laps for the first time in a long time Sunday, and I loved it. I actually missed doing that. This is the time when I absolutely love to swim. Even after all this time, I can still feel the power (even though it might not really be there anymore) as I put each hand in the water, draw it along side my body, then kick hard before dropping the next hand in. To flip, then kick off the wall hard and get as aerodynamic as possible under the water before I come up to the surface.

I feel good at this time, like I’m discovering my love of swimming all over again. In the next few weeks, as I get stronger and faster, I’ll feel even better. I’m looking forward to that.

The part that I won’t like will be a couple of months from now, when it starts to become routine. At that point, it becomes boring, and I start to dread stretching, getting to the gym early, changing, and jumping into a cold pool. Then doing a hundred or more laps.

That happens at some point nearly every year. It used to happen even when I competed back in high school. When I cross the line between doing something that’s fun and doing what I feel like I need to do.

This year, I’m going to try to avoid that feeling. I’m really swimming this year to train for a triathlon, and it won’t be a long swim at that. So I won’t have to train 4 or 5 times per week for months on end. Once I get my swim stamina back, I’ll probably only need to do laps once a week.

In addition to that, I’m going to try to find a place to swim, just swim, no laps, once it warms up in late spring. Or maybe take a vacation to a warm locale with a pool. In those moments, like in Florida last October, I swim because it’s fun and I love the water. At any rate, I’ll be looking for a way to break up the monotony… keep things fresh, if you know what I mean.

By the way, a day later, I can report no bad repercussions from either of my shoulders. And just before I climbed into the pool Sunday, my BG was 158 mg/dL. After swimming and a quick shower, I was at 84 mg/dL (don’t forget that I can’t wear my pump in the pool). That’s something to feel good about too.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Exercise | Also tagged , | Comments (4)

Invincible.

December 13, 2012 – 9:41 am

I had a day off yesterday, and I used some of my extra time to go to the gym and get in a decent workout for a change.

I guess you could say that my exercise routines go with the seasons, so to speak. Most years, I try to work hard in the spring, maintain in the summer, finish strong in the fall. Then I try to give myself a break in November and December, only going when it’s most convenient and I really feel like it. Of course, the November/December thing gives me an opportunity to really slack off if I’m not careful. And frankly, some years, I’m not careful.

But however my workout routines go this time of year, I always get the same feeling when I do go:

I feel great.

In fact, I feel better than great. I feel like I’m fighting back against the carbs that seem to appear out of thin air during the holidays. I feel like I’m already getting a head start on next year. In my head, I’m already planning out what events I’ll compete in and how I’ll improve my technique to be the best athlete that I can. I can actually feel myself adding days, months, years to the end of my life.

Of course, that’s over-the-top optimistic. If you saw me, you’d realize that I definitely don’t look like an athlete. But on days like yesterday, I feel invincible, capable of handling any athletic endeavor. Even if I still have some poundage to shed.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Exercise | Also tagged , , | Comments (4)